0:05

Hi, welcome to Minor Issues,

0:08

Major Opinions, the podcast from Real

0:10

Simple, where we hash out some of the most controversial

0:13

lifestyle topics raging on the internet and finally

0:15

settle the debate with industry experts. I'm

0:17

Leslie Corona, Senior Home Editor. I'm

0:19

Zamaga, Photo Director.

0:21

I'm Amy Macklin, Features Director. And

0:24

we're your hosts. How is everyone

0:26

doing?

0:27

Good! Fine! It's

0:29

our last episode of the season,

0:31

of season one. Oh my god. I'm

0:34

for Klimt. Can't believe we're here. Yeah.

0:36

So glad to be on this journey with you. Yeah, same.

0:39

We've learned

0:39

a lot. I've learned a lot and I don't know if I'm

0:41

happy about it. And

0:44

we're going to learn more today because the topic

0:46

is bath or shower,

0:48

which is better?

0:52

And I heard you talked to actor and writer

0:54

Emily Hampshire. Yes, I

0:56

will share my interview with her later in the episode.

0:59

Plus, we'll hear from Dr. Michael

1:01

G. Schmidt. He's a professor at the Department

1:04

of Microbiology and Immunology at

1:06

the Medical University of South Carolina. All

1:08

right. So bath or shower,

1:10

people? What is it? I

1:12

am pro bath. I am pro bath. I

1:14

know. I mean, I don't take baths in the

1:17

morning. Who has time? Who has time? I know

1:19

everybody thinks I'm sitting around and stewing in my own filth.

1:21

No, someone has said

1:23

that on Instagram. I know, but I... Not

1:26

that I'm thinking about it. But I will

1:28

be very interested to hear what the expert finally winds

1:31

up saying. I mean, if you haven't been, you know, laying

1:34

brick or mining, I just feel like it's not

1:36

really that much ambient dirt.

1:39

I don't know. I'll just be interested. But I love a bath.

1:41

OK, so I

1:42

love, love, love, love, love, love, love the idea

1:45

of a bath. I hate

1:47

the work that goes into it. I hate having

1:49

to fill the tub. I hate having

1:51

to put in the soap. I prepare all

1:53

these candles. It takes me 45 minutes to figure

1:55

out what kind of music I want to listen to. And

1:58

then I see like pictures of people in the tub.

1:59

reading books, I'm like, how do they do that without getting the

2:02

book wet? Like it's just all of these things start

2:04

overtaking my mind. And then I'm like over

2:06

it before it's even happened. It feels more stressful

2:08

than it, it's like not the point. And

2:11

there's moments where I've gone through the entire process

2:13

and like the water is the perfect temperature, I've got enough bubbles

2:16

that I love, get in there and like a minute

2:18

later, I'm like, I'm done.

2:19

I just gotta get out of there. It's just like

2:21

so hot and

2:22

I'm like suffocating and I don't have the attention

2:24

span to just sit there with my thoughts. I'm like getting pruny,

2:27

like a pulled up hot dog by the

2:29

end of it. Like,

2:30

ugh. You

2:32

know, the pruniness is a thing. Baths

2:34

just aren't for me. And I think I'm in the same boat

2:36

as Mzam,

2:37

or in the same tub, I don't know.

2:39

That's a good one. But I

2:41

just don't, I like the

2:44

idea of them, but they seem more

2:46

stressful. Also, by the way,

2:48

I was talking to somebody about this and they were like, I just step

2:50

in for a few minutes. Like it doesn't have to be a

2:52

full-on production. Yes it does, you know how long it takes to

2:55

fill a tub? Doesn't take that long. And

2:57

then

2:58

also, you wanna make sure the tub is clean

3:00

before you keep gonna lay in it. So that in

3:02

of itself is a whole other production.

3:04

Yeah, I kind of agreed. Like there was like that layer

3:07

of scum that kind of develops on

3:09

the bottom of your tub if you don't clean it enough.

3:12

I just feel like you basically have to clean that

3:14

off. Or your little hairs and then like the hairs start

3:16

floating around while you're trying to have like

3:18

this central bath and it's just not

3:20

revived at all. You're like,

3:22

ah, I'm relaxing. Here's my glass of wine and there's a floating

3:25

piece of hair. And then the

3:27

water scrows, just the thought of it grosses me

3:29

out. You have to clean those tubs before

3:31

you get in.

3:31

It's an excellent place to read though. And

3:34

your book does get wet, but it does get wet.

3:36

But it's fun. Yeah, how great are you

3:38

in there? I would be the idiot that drops the book in the tub.

3:40

Nope, not, I can't. It takes a

3:42

long time. It's definitely not a thing. I can be in there

3:44

a couple of hours. Couple of hours?

3:47

Is that weird? That is bonkers. Amy's

3:50

like part amphibian actually.

3:52

Like she has an- I have a pice of- She like licks

3:54

her arm. Are you guys water signs? You're

3:56

not. I'm a fire sign. You're a fire sign.

3:58

Yes. Is there anything you're gonna do with

4:00

it? It's about this, now I forgot. Sagittarius.

4:03

Sagittarius, Sagittarius. Leo's a

4:05

fire sign, right? Thanks. I'm just

4:07

assuming because summer means hot and that means fun, so

4:09

like, whatever.

4:09

Are you a Leo? Yes, I'm like a quintessential Leo. Wait,

4:12

two hours? No, we gotta go back to the two hour thing. Yeah,

4:14

that is kind of a lot. But honestly, if

4:16

you're reading a book, that's what I'm gonna say. I'm a slow

4:18

reader, I will read one page an hour. So

4:21

I would have to be in that tub for like eight, that

4:23

has to be my job to sit in the tub then

4:25

and read a book, because I would never get through it.

4:27

Are you writing your features in

4:29

the tub? What's happening?

4:31

I know what Amy does when she works from home. I know,

4:33

also, doesn't the water get cold? Well,

4:36

yeah, and then you let, I know this is terrible,

4:38

but you let some out and then you run

4:40

some more and you keep doing that. There's

4:42

a second round of this? Yes,

4:45

yes, it's just this constant,

4:48

you know.

4:49

Okay, I went to this spiritual list,

4:51

and I was just like, I feel like my energy's off, hold on, and they

4:53

were like, we'll take a bath. And I was like, there was

4:55

this bath

4:56

liquid soap thing or whatever, and I was just like, oh, do I just

4:58

fill the bath up and soak in

5:00

it and put this powder in? They were like, no,

5:03

actually, it's better to use this while

5:05

taking a shower, because if you're in

5:07

the bath, you're just sitting in that negative

5:09

energy.

5:10

And so they were like, so it's- It's sitting in your own negative

5:12

energy. Right, and then I think of sitting in your

5:14

own dirt too, which is kind of nuts.

5:17

And then I read on a comment

5:19

that someone's just like, oh, I like to shower first

5:22

to get the grime off, and then I take a bath. And then

5:24

I'm thinking, so are you just sitting there like a wet

5:27

dog waiting for your tub to fill up after you've

5:29

showered? Like, what is going on? It

5:31

seems like a longer process. That

5:33

does seem too involved. Like, you're just sitting there

5:35

shivering, wet. Like, shivering. It's true.

5:38

But I love the tub. It's

5:40

the worm in there. It's like the womb. It's

5:42

like so woolly. Yeah, I do, I understand.

5:45

I get the whole vibe, but

5:47

I can't. I like the idea, I do, I

5:49

do. I wanna be a bath person, but I'm not. But

5:51

you don't need

5:52

all the scandals and stuff. You really don't. Ugh,

5:54

what's the point? I love

5:56

how you're all or nothing about this. Wait, I

5:58

can skip the rose paddle? Is that what you're

6:01

telling me? You just need a waterproof

6:03

case for your phone. You can look at TikTok. So

6:05

we asked readers on Instagram what

6:08

they thought and somebody was like, I get hot flashes at

6:10

night. So I prefer the tub where I can immerse

6:12

or pop out as needed. And I'm like, does that make

6:14

sense? No, because a bath is a hot

6:16

flash. That's what I was thinking. It doesn't make sense. It

6:19

is a hot flash. I feel the tub with cold

6:21

water to get cool. I'm

6:24

trying to get clean and yet I'm sweating. It's so weird.

6:26

Oh, that's a weird point. I'm just always just like

6:29

suffocating. But also,

6:30

I feel like sometimes aren't the right

6:32

dimensions. Like not like

6:34

long enough. Yeah. I know. Or

6:37

some also had that terrible ledge right here that

6:39

cuts you off. I don't understand why they do that. Wait, do you have

6:41

a standing tub? What kind of tub? Oh

6:43

no, it's just one of those apartment,

6:46

like

6:47

a builder grade tub, totally. Yeah,

6:50

it's true about the length though. Cause like, that's the other

6:53

thing. Like my toes are cold. And then I like, then

6:55

I bring my toes in and then my body comes

6:57

up and then I'm like, oh my chest is cold now. I do

6:59

like this swishy swashy thing back and

7:02

forth. It's just not enjoyable. It's

7:04

too much. How do you? It's too much.

7:06

I don't know. I'm 5'11, I don't

7:07

fit. I really love it. And I think it's unfortunate

7:10

though because a lot of hotels don't have

7:12

tubs anymore. I mean, most don't. Oh, I do think about

7:14

that. They also don't

7:15

have full doors which annoys the crap

7:17

out of me. Those half glass doors. I'm

7:19

like, okay, can you send up 75 extra towels so

7:22

that I can clean up this wet mess on the hotel

7:24

floor?

7:24

It is not chic. It is not

7:27

chic. They're like, oh, fancy boutique hotel.

7:29

I'm like, it's a wet bath house in here.

7:32

I'm sad about the decline bathtubs. So

7:34

you guys are showers only. Yeah. I

7:37

just don't like the idea of having to clean it. I think that's

7:39

my biggest thing. Yeah. You found

7:41

it relaxing, a shower? No. Okay.

7:45

I mean, it's just the shower. I don't know. I'm

7:47

a very quick shower-er.

7:49

I don't know. Like I'm in and out. Like my

7:51

husband takes longer than I do. He's like primps and grooms

7:54

himself. But in and out meaning what, like five

7:56

minutes? Interesting. I'm pretty

7:58

fast. But I've also feel, I've been. trained

8:00

to be that way. We all shared one bathroom, so

8:02

we had at least five of us when we didn't have family

8:05

visiting from outside the country. At

8:07

least five of us, so we would all have to show the bathroom, and we

8:09

couldn't spend too long because you'd use

8:11

all the hot water. And so

8:14

I'm in and out in five minutes, maybe longer than that, depending

8:16

on if I need to wash my hair

8:17

and shave my legs and stuff like that. That takes

8:19

longer, but I don't know. I think that's part of it

8:22

though. A bath just doesn't feel like the most efficient

8:24

use of my time. I can see that. I

8:26

don't have time for those.

8:27

You're too worried about laundry and building

8:29

a dishwasher the right way. You got

8:31

things you do. I just don't have time for that. I don't

8:33

know. Yeah, I feel like my showers are like 10 minutes-ish.

8:37

And then if I'm really depressed,

8:39

make it 15. What does a depression

8:42

shower look like? It's like just soaking

8:44

under and having the water just fall on you and

8:46

you're either crying or not. I'm

8:49

just kidding. It's just like

8:51

Mondays, you're just like, oh, I'm not ready for this

8:53

week.

8:54

But you do your good thinking in the shower. Yeah, I do my great

8:56

thinking in the shower. And I feel like this

8:58

is a lot of people, but I

9:01

feel like I sing really well in the showers. And

9:04

so it's like sometimes I'll do a little karaoke moment

9:06

where I'll have my phone in there with the

9:08

lyrics of a song while it's playing and I'll sing it at

9:10

the top of my lungs. It's

9:14

just so therapeutic. Wait,

9:16

so you play music when you shower? Usually in the morning.

9:19

No, in the morning. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes. It

9:21

just gets me going for the day. I don't wanna

9:23

get going for the day. That's my problem. I

9:25

would be like that unless I got my music going. And

9:27

then I'm like, okay,

9:29

I can get through this week. So that's your ritual. That

9:31

is my ritual.

9:32

Amy, do you play music when you're in the bath?

9:35

Do not. Enya? Sounds like

9:37

she was silent. Yes, she was silent. Sounds miserable.

9:40

I know, that's not even weird. Not even like relaxing

9:42

massage music or anything. But then what are you gonna play while you're sitting

9:44

in the bath? Just like relaxing music, like sounds

9:47

of- Like what, yang?

9:48

Enya? Enya? Yeah, yeah,

9:50

yeah. Sail away. You're

9:53

sailing away in that tub there.

9:55

God, I really

9:57

am did not expect that.

10:00

outsize versus. I also was not

10:02

expecting you though to be like, I love a good bath.

10:04

And I'm like, what? I'm gonna get an Excel

10:06

spreadsheet and calculate the two hours of your life over

10:09

the course of like an entire lifespan and see how

10:11

many hours you lose by soaking in

10:13

that tub. I could have learned a language. Or gain actually.

10:15

This could be like great for your mental health and body.

10:18

We don't know. Well, I mean, we'll

10:20

find out at the end of the episode because

10:22

there is something about

10:24

that

10:24

leader at the end. Okay. Can

10:26

I ask what time do you step in

10:28

the tub? Well,

10:31

it might be. Between seven

10:33

to 10 p.m. I didn't

10:36

have to know. In fact, I have to go. It

10:39

takes an hour to set up and then two hours to sit

10:41

there. No, the two hour

10:43

bath would be like a weekend bath. That

10:45

would be a weekend thing. I'd say a regular

10:48

bath might be like a 1030 to 1130 or

10:50

something like that. It might be. I really

10:52

do think it has to be a water

10:54

sign thing. I've always thought that.

10:56

You know? Wait, do you actually believe that's so? I kind

10:58

of do. I'm going to fast forward to her getting

11:01

in the tub and she's actually a mermaid.

11:03

Oh, I love that. Wait. Red hip

11:05

area. Oh,

11:06

I love that. I am a mermaid. You

11:08

blew my cover. I think I have like one more question

11:10

for you about the tub thing. Wait, when you get out,

11:12

do you clean it? I don't think you answered this, Amy. Do you

11:14

clean it before and after?

11:17

Not every time. Okay. No, but I

11:19

do clean it. That translates to

11:22

no, never. She said not every

11:24

time to sound more civilized, but she's like, I never

11:26

do it.

11:27

I'm curious what Emily has to say about this. Yeah,

11:29

me too. Let's cue it up. Hi,

11:34

Emily Hampshire. Welcome to Minor

11:36

Issues Major Opinions. How are you?

11:39

Thank you. I'm very good. Thank

11:41

you. You are famous for your

11:43

role in Schitt's Creek

11:45

where you played Stevie Budd. By the way, I related

11:47

very hard to Stevie. I think a lot of people related very

11:50

hard to Stevie. They love Stevie. I

11:52

feel like she's not initially the most relatable

11:55

person on the show, unless you come

11:57

from a billionaire

11:58

family. Yes. So, yeah.

12:01

She's like a whole vibe. Yeah. But

12:03

I wanted to talk to you today about some of the recent

12:05

stuff you've been working on. Like

12:07

I found out that you authored a book,

12:09

a graphic novel called

12:11

Amelia Arawood, Basic Witch, which

12:14

I love the title because it's very

12:16

clever. Thank you. Yes,

12:18

I did. It's my first ever

12:21

book, graphic novel. And

12:23

it kind of came about when I

12:25

was watching The Kardashians. I

12:28

was watching that show and

12:30

I was like, this is a family of

12:33

real sisters, like their

12:35

siblings. And what if I

12:37

just happened to have been born into

12:40

that family? I would be the

12:42

worst Kardashian that ever lived. I

12:44

would be kicked off the reality show. And

12:47

from there sprung Amelia.

12:49

She's the black sheep of her very famous witch

12:52

family.

12:53

Why witches? Because

12:55

Kardashians? They have their own reality

12:57

show and she gets cut out

13:00

of it because her magic is not on

13:03

brand. She's bad at magic. I

13:05

kind of love how like that's so now anyway.

13:10

She ultimately has to find her own magic.

13:13

And you have to read the book to find that out. So

13:16

I was curious to know like why

13:18

a graphic novel? Well,

13:21

so was I at first. And that was presented

13:23

to me an old agent of mine

13:25

during COVID had gone into

13:28

comic books because that was always his passion. And

13:31

he went to this company called Z2 Comics

13:33

who primarily do musicians

13:35

and they help them tell their

13:37

stories through graphic novels. So like the Gorillas

13:40

or Joan Jett. And so he had just started

13:42

working for the company and he's like, you know, I think Emily

13:45

might have a story in her

13:47

and he reached out to me and I was like,

13:49

why graphic novels? I'd never

13:52

thought of it. And he said, you

13:54

know, a graphic novel is this limitless

13:56

canvas. You can do anything in

13:58

it. And I.

13:59

I was like, wait a second,

14:02

I could have a Jell-O pool? Like I've always

14:04

wanted a Jell-O pool. And so

14:06

he was like, yeah, there's no budget. You

14:08

don't have to worry about like health and safety being like you have

14:11

to sanitize the Jell-O pool. So

14:13

I was in at limitless

14:15

canvas. That is a

14:17

hundred percent what I thought when I was doing

14:19

my homework on you a little bit. I remember reading Mouse

14:22

when I was

14:22

in college and I was blown away by

14:24

what graphic novels can accomplish. The

14:27

fact that you chose to do that, I was like, that's such an

14:29

interesting choice and probably a

14:31

lot harder than people think to do.

14:33

Well, it was definitely a learning curve and there's

14:35

so many moving parts to

14:38

it and collaborators. Like I didn't

14:40

illustrate it. I know how to write a story,

14:42

but I don't know how to write panels. And so I

14:44

had a co-writer, there's even a colorist

14:47

and a person who does lettering. There's all

14:49

these different departments for very specific

14:51

parts of the book. So it was really such

14:54

a joy in having a

14:56

vision in your head and then finding people

14:59

who are the best in their specific field

15:02

to not only bring it out, but

15:03

like one up it, 10 up it.

15:06

I highly recommend it for anyone who's never

15:08

thought of making a graphic novel, make

15:10

a graphic novel. How long did it take you

15:12

to work on this? Like how long from start to

15:14

finish? It took almost two years

15:17

from start to finish. It was a long process.

15:19

Yeah, I believe it. Okay, so

15:21

Emily, are you ready

15:22

to talk about some hot topics,

15:25

some controversial issues? Oh my God, I'm so

15:27

ready. I'm upset. Cause you know when you said these are

15:29

like minor issues, major opinions,

15:31

I don't think of these things as minor issues. These

15:34

things, yeah.

15:35

These are the only issues. These

15:38

are, people get really worked up over this kind

15:40

of stuff. Yeah. The question

15:42

is bath or shower, which is better? Oh,

15:45

so this is a weird

15:48

thing because whenever

15:50

I go on location or something, they always, you

15:52

have to find an apartment or something. I'm always like, I

15:54

want something with a bath. I never really

15:57

end up using that bath, but I want

15:59

to have the-

15:59

And I also like the

16:02

house I bought in LA,

16:04

it was very important to me to have a giant

16:07

freestanding bathtub. I

16:09

have yet to use that

16:10

bath. However, I think

16:13

it's actually because when I had long hair,

16:16

I would do what a friend

16:18

of mine once called because she walked into the bathroom

16:20

on me doing this. She's like, you shower like

16:22

a baby elephant. Cause I would

16:24

go on my hands and knees, flip my head over

16:27

and do it under the tap. And that's

16:29

how I would wash my hair. I

16:32

don't know why I was raised

16:34

badly, but yeah,

16:36

I would say there just needs to be a bath

16:39

option,

16:40

but I'll probably take the shower, but I want

16:42

to know I have the choice. But what is it that's

16:44

preventing you from using the bath? I

16:47

think the work of it, the filling

16:49

it, the time of it. I

16:51

also, I love the idea of like, I'm

16:53

going to take a bath, but the minute I'm

16:55

in the bath, I'm too hot. I'm overheated.

16:58

Yeah. Also the amount of time.

17:01

Isn't that so funny though? Because the point

17:03

of the bath is to relax and like

17:06

waste time kind of. And you're just like,

17:09

but you're not like grossed out by the bathtub,

17:11

right? No, no, I require

17:13

a bathtub to not use it. That's

17:16

a controversy

17:16

for a lot of people. They think it's like gross

17:18

to like sit in your filth. Oh, no,

17:21

no, no. Me who said I barely brushed

17:23

my teeth. Yeah, no, I have no problem with

17:25

that. Okay. Yeah. Oh my gosh. This

17:27

was so much fun, Emily Hampshire.

17:30

Thank you so much for coming in the show. I could do this forever. I

17:32

know. I really would

17:34

love to be your idiot expert.

17:36

No. Because I consider

17:39

myself an expert

17:40

from having zero qualifications. Emily

17:43

Hampshire, thank you so much for coming on the show.

17:45

It was so much fun having you. Thank

17:47

you so much. I'd love to do laundry together one

17:49

time.

17:53

We'll be back with more after the break. Bye.

18:01

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18:52

I

18:56

like that she

18:59

brought up the temperature control. Yeah, like

19:01

Mazam was saying, so it's like you get really hot in

19:03

there. How do you regulate

19:05

that? I'm wearing some gold. See,

19:07

that's annoying. It's like, oh. It's happening.

19:10

You guys, it

19:12

doesn't take that long to feel the best. I

19:14

don't know. I feel like it does. That's

19:16

what's pretty big. Sorry, Amy. I

19:18

used to freak. So

19:21

did any of our other guests have some thoughts? Yeah,

19:24

so I spoke with Monica Paben

19:26

on episode nine. She is the

19:28

co-host of the podcast Entre Expert. She

19:31

also had thoughts on baths versus

19:33

showers.

19:34

All right, cool. Let's queue it up.

19:40

Bath or shower, which is better? I

19:43

love baths. So technically,

19:45

that's preferred for me, but I take

19:47

showers. Wait,

19:50

you love baths? Oh, I love a bath.

19:54

I love a bath so much. When do you take bath? That's

19:57

the problem. But like, when do you have the time

19:59

for that?

19:59

My current apartment

20:03

doesn't have a good bath situation, but

20:05

my old apartment did. It

20:08

had a standalone bath and

20:10

I definitely would. Like Sunday nights

20:12

or even like a midweek

20:14

bath. I would make time

20:16

for it really soothed

20:19

me, soothed as me. A, what's

20:22

a bad bath situation? And

20:24

then B, how long are these baths? A

20:29

bad bath situation is a tub, it's a shower.

20:32

You

20:34

know what I mean? It's not a shower stall,

20:37

it's a tub

20:39

with a shower. You know, like standard,

20:41

I guess. But that's not a good bath

20:43

situation. A good bath situation is

20:45

a standalone tub.

20:48

But what makes the standard bath?

20:50

It just doesn't feel as luxurious,

20:53

it's smaller. I can never

20:55

get the water to stay

20:57

standing still, like it's always

21:00

leaking out with no go. But

21:04

I do, when I'm in a hotel and there's like

21:06

a nice

21:07

standalone bathtub, I will always take one. But

21:09

like how long are your baths? I do like to

21:11

make them super hot, so I can't stay

21:13

in there for too long. Maybe

21:16

like 10, 15.

21:17

When I was really on a bath schedule

21:20

in my old apartment, I would do like

21:22

a 30 minute bath.

21:24

Well, I feel like a 10 to 15 minute

21:27

bath isn't very long. I feel

21:29

like 30 minutes actually feels like more normal. It's

21:31

not, but you sweat it out.

21:34

Yeah. You

21:37

do overheat. I feel like most

21:39

people don't really love baths, which

21:41

is why I'm like, wait, what?

21:44

They're not doing it right. But do you put anything

21:46

in the bath? Exactly, they're

21:48

not putting in the right salts. You have to put

21:50

in a lot of things to

21:52

make your bath

21:53

wonderful. You have to put in essential

21:56

oils, sometimes a bath bomb if

21:58

you're interested in that. I personally

22:00

love a bubble bath. I

22:02

will get like kids

22:05

bubble bath.

22:06

Shout out Hello Bello. Let's throw them a

22:08

shout out and throw that in there. And

22:11

Epsom salt. Sometimes if I'm feeling

22:14

a little sick, like if a cold is coming

22:16

on, there's this mustard

22:19

bath powder. I forget what it's

22:21

called. And you throw a scoop in there.

22:24

It is a cure. You really

22:26

know this. You

22:29

really like have your, your

22:31

stuff. Yes. And I dimmed the lights.

22:34

I put on a candle. There is. And

22:37

you listen to either music or a podcast.

22:43

I just love how shocked and appalled

22:45

you get. And when you react and

22:47

just like, what? But

22:50

I felt it on that one. Also, what

22:52

does she mean that she can't keep the water

22:54

still? Like she's splashing

22:57

around in there. Like what? Anything

23:01

like a clawfoot tub, for example, like that's

23:04

out in the open. That to

23:06

me encourages more water splashing. You

23:08

have with a standard tub, it's usually flush against the

23:10

wall. So you just have like that wall

23:13

one, you know, like some of it. Right. Is

23:16

it a matter of like filling the water up too much

23:18

or something? And so like when you get in, like your body

23:20

weight is pushing, like making

23:22

it overflow. I'm trying to figure out. I

23:25

don't know. We need further intel. I

23:27

know. Let's see. Get

23:29

on that. Just picturing like the, like a ship just swaying in the water

23:31

and like the water just swishing back and forth. I

23:34

was just like, what's happening in that tub? I'm

23:36

just glad that there's another bather that I don't have to fill

23:38

so long. So Monica. But like 30 minutes.

23:41

Amy. I know. I can

23:43

see you out with so many. I know. I know.

23:46

I know. I know. I know.

23:49

I know.

23:51

I'm just kidding. No, no, no. It's not

23:53

every night. You know, even if it was you do. I'm just

23:55

kidding. I'm just kidding. It's not every night. You

23:58

know what? Even if it was you do. what makes you happy,

24:00

honestly. It's like really no judgment. I

24:02

was just shocked because I couldn't do it. But

24:06

it's totally great that you do.

24:08

I love that journey for you. Thank

24:11

you. Welcome. I'm supportive.

24:14

But then I also spoke with Kirsten Ferguson,

24:16

who is a beloved Peloton

24:18

instructor. She was on a previous episode

24:21

and she also had thoughts on baths

24:23

versus showers. So let's play her clip. This

24:27

I have to know because

24:29

you're so active. Do

24:32

you prefer baths or showers? Oh,

24:35

showers, showers. Really? So

24:37

you do baths? Yes. No,

24:40

I don't. I don't do baths.

24:43

And if I did do a bath, I'd take a shower

24:45

after.

24:47

Because I feel like I'm sitting in a bunch of dirty

24:49

water. I need to go then shower. It's

24:52

like, this it may

24:54

feel great. But then I'm kind of like, ew.

24:58

And my daughter loves baths. And I'm like, no,

25:00

you are funky. You've been out

25:02

with these germs all day. Absolutely not. You

25:04

are getting in the shower. But

25:06

so with your muscles, you don't do like a soaking

25:09

thing for your muscles. Maybe

25:11

I should do more. I typically

25:13

do different types of recovery. I mean,

25:16

clearly whatever is working, whatever you're doing has been

25:18

working so far. I use my Norma-Tech

25:20

sleeves. I go to PT, I get massages.

25:23

Okay. And I'm bath is

25:25

not really my vibe, like candles.

25:27

Like

25:27

I don't have time for that. Who

25:31

has time to be? And then I'm in the tub thinking about

25:33

all the things I should be doing. It's like not

25:35

relaxing then for you. No, no.

25:42

I feel it. Why am I so obsessed

25:44

with candles? That's a good point. I have a candle.

25:46

You don't have to have a candle. Okay, so where do you get your light

25:48

source from? Are you gonna keep the light on? I

25:50

am, yeah, because I'm reading. Oh, I guess.

25:53

But that doesn't feel relaxing to me. I'm just like sitting

25:55

in like a lit room and

25:58

floating in water, I don't know. But

26:00

also like her whole point on like marinating

26:02

in dirt. I don't

26:05

know, I just feel like, I don't

26:07

want to sit in the dark either though. That feels

26:09

like an isolation tank. Well that's why you have the candle.

26:11

Altered stains. Oh yeah, right. You

26:13

have the candles. You

26:16

have a little bit of like mood lighting. Yeah,

26:18

I know. To set the vibe. I just like to have my

26:20

books and, but you know, it's okay.

26:22

I've got Monica, Monica's on my side. She knows

26:24

how I feel. Okay, so

26:26

the next part is kind of what I'm freaked out

26:29

about, which is the microbiologist

26:32

type situation. So

26:35

who did you speak to for that?

26:37

Yeah, so I spoke with Dr. Michael

26:39

G. Schmidt, who is a

26:41

professor and vice chairman

26:44

of microbiology and immunology at the Medical University

26:46

of South Carolina. And this is what he had to say

26:48

on baths versus showers. Ooh,

26:50

I'm scared.

26:51

So hello, I'm Michael Schmidt.

26:54

I am a professor of microbiology

26:56

here at the Medical University of South Carolina,

27:00

which is located in Charleston, South

27:02

Carolina, one of the United States's

27:04

older cities. What

27:07

gets you cleaner, a bath or a shower? Well,

27:11

if you have a shower,

27:14

you can clean your bathroom or a

27:17

shower. Well,

27:20

if you have unlimited

27:22

hot water, it's of course a

27:24

shower. If you have

27:26

to put a kettle on the stove and

27:28

heat up a bathtub, it's gonna be the bathtub

27:31

because no one likes to take cold showers.

27:34

But in reality, what gets you cleaner is

27:36

a nice warm shower. Not

27:38

hot, not cold, but a nice warm

27:41

shower with good old soap. So

27:43

one of the benefits of a shower over

27:46

a bath is the friction

27:49

that the water exerts on

27:51

our skin. And it actually helps

27:53

to exfoliate us without

27:56

the need of aloofah, you know,

27:58

that pulsating.

27:59

action, especially if you're

28:02

using a water conserving shower

28:05

head, really blows

28:07

out the water onto our skin

28:10

to dislodge any

28:12

of those loose and dead skin

28:14

cells that really should just be

28:16

down the drain. Do you not need a loofah

28:18

then if you're just showering? Well,

28:21

I mean, that actually helps. Exfoliation,

28:24

it actually just facilitates the

28:27

scrubbing. But if you got a nice

28:30

shower with a good

28:32

spray that is

28:35

pulsing and serving

28:37

the activity that, you know,

28:39

the loofah sponge is really

28:42

nothing more than abrasive

28:44

and it's serving to exfoliate

28:47

you. And loofahs themselves

28:50

can get pretty gross if you begin

28:52

to think about it. They got all those dead skin

28:55

cells inside of them. And

28:57

unless you're routinely sanitizing

28:59

your loofah, that can be a science

29:01

experiment unto itself.

29:04

Yeah, most people are not doing that, as I'm

29:06

sure you know. Where

29:08

the loofah goes is another

29:11

story that we won't get into.

29:12

And then the next question. If you

29:14

take a bath, are you essentially just sitting

29:17

in your own filth and not actually

29:19

getting clean? Well, the good news is we

29:21

don't leak all that much. And

29:24

but we do have fecal

29:27

material associated with those normal

29:30

exit routes. And that,

29:32

of course, gets diluted off.

29:35

After all, everyone knows the old adage,

29:37

the solution to pollution is

29:39

dilution. And when you're sitting

29:42

in that nice warm bath that's

29:44

effectively

29:46

soaking off the dried

29:49

on stool, it's a little bit

29:51

gross and disgusting. It's

29:53

ending up in the bathtub that you happen

29:55

to be sitting in with

29:57

your hands just sitting

30:00

in the water scrubbing yourself. But

30:02

for the most part, the soap takes care

30:05

of those nasty nasties and

30:08

you do indeed flush it down the drain. Should

30:10

you clean the tub before you get in to take

30:12

a bath

30:13

every time? The answer to that

30:16

question is if the

30:18

person who used the tub before

30:20

you was a good citizen and

30:22

cleaned it after they used it, then

30:24

no.

30:25

But if they were my

30:28

college roommates, then the answer is

30:30

yes. In my house now, what

30:32

we have done is we have taught folks after

30:35

they're done using the tub, you

30:37

know, to sanitize it, to effectively,

30:41

we don't leave rings around our

30:43

tubs. You

30:45

know, that's just gross and disgusting.

30:48

How do you sanitize your tub actually? I

30:50

just use a mild abrasive

30:53

cleaning product like Comet

30:55

or Ajax. It's what my mother taught

30:57

me. There are soft soaps or soft

31:00

disinfecting products that are also

31:02

in the marketplace like SoftScrub and

31:05

other branded products that

31:08

are out there that are not as abrasive.

31:10

But the abrasives with

31:12

a little bit of the coring that they have

31:15

in there and it's really the

31:18

oxygen that's associated with

31:20

those coronated products

31:22

that really do the number and

31:25

serve to inactivate

31:27

the viruses that may leak out of

31:29

us and kill the bacteria and

31:31

fungi that may be associated

31:33

with us.

31:35

Yeah, I think a lot of people would love to hear with someone

31:37

like you does to sanitize their tub. I have no

31:39

shame saying I use Comet. And

31:42

then you kind of already touched on this, but

31:44

what kind of stuff is sitting in the bathtub

31:46

after you've soaked in it? You

31:48

mentioned fecal bacteria. Well, fecal

31:51

bacteria and don't forget,

31:54

everyone has smelled gym socks.

31:56

We've all been to high school and

31:59

that's what's in the tub. Those

32:01

are our skin cells and

32:03

those are the microorganisms that are

32:06

eating the oils

32:08

that we naturally secrete.

32:11

Remember, we're continuously

32:13

trying to remoisturize our skin

32:15

and

32:16

those bacteria look at

32:18

those oils as food. And

32:21

they

32:21

actually metabolize the food. And

32:23

when they're done eating what we're

32:25

making, namely the oils, they

32:28

make that funk

32:30

that are associated with dirty gym socks.

32:34

And again, as you're exfoliating

32:36

during that shower or bath

32:39

through the pulsating action of the water,

32:41

or if you're taking a bath through the loofah

32:43

or the washcloth, you're

32:46

effectively causing

32:48

those skin cells to slough off

32:51

and they're literally covered with microbes. And

32:53

the microbes are things like staphylococci

32:57

and streptococci. And that's what gives

33:00

our gym socks that rank odor.

33:02

Everyone who's been to a gym

33:05

knows that odor. And that's actually

33:07

the microorganism

33:09

eating those short-chain

33:11

fatty acids that we're excreting

33:14

to keep our skin bright and shiny. OK.

33:19

Obviously sitting in the tub for prolonged periods of

33:21

time is probably not great for your skin. Doing

33:23

it occasionally is probably fine. Is

33:25

there a maximum to how often someone should

33:27

bathe? It's the prune effect. If

33:30

you sit in the tub too long

33:32

where your skin gets that wrinkly

33:35

appearance as if you've

33:37

become a prune,

33:38

you've sat too long because

33:41

the water that's, you

33:43

know, we're literally about 70 percent

33:46

water. That water is streaming

33:49

out into the tub because like,

33:51

likes, like, and it's just

33:53

streaming out. And so that's why we're turning

33:55

into a prune. So if you think

33:57

about it,

33:58

frequent. baths

34:01

where you're literally soaking in there 30

34:03

minutes, 40 minutes a day on a daily basis,

34:08

you're really depleting

34:10

those natural oils out

34:12

of your skin that actually

34:14

serve to keep

34:17

your skin healthy to

34:19

give you that healthy

34:21

appearance. The one

34:23

final thing I'd like to share with the listeners

34:26

is remember, after showering

34:28

or bathing to make sure you dry yourself

34:31

thoroughly, especially where

34:33

you have those nooks and crannies.

34:37

Because those nooks and crannies, if they continue

34:39

to stay moist, they

34:41

will grow things that we don't like

34:44

to have around like bacteria

34:46

and fungi. And that's after all

34:49

why when you go to the gym and

34:51

you shower at the gym, you want to

34:53

make sure you dry in between

34:55

your toes so you don't bring

34:57

home that dreaded

34:59

athlete's foot. Well,

35:01

give us the final verdict. So

35:04

the final verdict is showers

35:06

are the way to go. Zoms

35:08

arms just went up. You're kind of soaking in your

35:10

own germs when you're sitting in the tub and the risk of infection

35:13

is pretty low, especially if you're a healthy

35:15

individual. But we also spoke to a dermatologist

35:18

for this topic when we ran it in our July issue

35:20

and she confirmed that bathing frequently

35:22

is more likely to strip skin of natural

35:24

oils. Is

35:25

that something else to consider?

35:28

Amy's laughing. She's going to quit this podcast.

35:33

The case gets stronger though, Amy, because baths

35:36

use lots of water.

35:38

So the average is between 40 to 50

35:41

gallons per adult bath. That's not

35:43

including the extra water you might

35:45

run to reheat it. That's according to the

35:48

EPA. We spoke with them as well. An eight minute

35:50

shower on the other hand with a standard

35:51

shower head uses about half that. But

35:54

however, baths are great for achy

35:56

muscles, kind of like what I was alluding to earlier

35:58

with Kirsten. It's great for

35:59

chest congestion and a recent German study

36:02

found that warm 20-minute baths could

36:04

be more effective than exercise

36:06

at treating depression.

36:08

So yeah, a weekly bath

36:11

in a clean tub is fine, but

36:13

the rest of the time a shower is the way

36:15

to go.

36:16

Therefore, Reel Simple says, showers

36:18

trump baths. Sorry,

36:20

Amy. A weekly bath. It's

36:24

just funny because it's like you're filthy,

36:26

you're a dried up husk. You're using the

36:29

planet's resources. You're

36:32

a dry up. You

36:35

know what? That's fine. That's

36:37

fine. I'm not going to... I'll take

36:39

the olive.

36:40

I'll take the olive. As you're reading it, she's just like

36:43

laughing non-stop. Oh

36:48

my God. Well, I just

36:50

feel like I've really opened

36:52

up on this episode or

36:55

last of the season and that's it. Okay.

36:58

Okay. Well, I'm willing to, as you say, take

37:00

the olive. It's fine. Monica

37:02

and I.

37:02

What a fun first season,

37:04

you guys. I know. This is

37:07

so cool. I know. Very educational.

37:09

It was a process of self-discovery

37:12

for you,

37:12

Mazam. Yes. Very,

37:14

very sad. Sad self-discovery. And

37:17

discovery for me too. And discovery

37:19

of what a freak everyone else is at.

37:22

Imagine learning that you're a dirtbag

37:24

from this one. I know I really

37:26

have. I really have. And this is a fitting

37:29

end. It's a fitting end. It's doing

37:31

like an og and slop. That's

37:33

what I'm doing. But anyway, it's okay.

37:36

It's okay. Now

37:38

American. Lots

37:40

of learning. Lots of reflection. It's

37:43

been real. And it has been real.

37:51

Thank you for listening to Minor Issues Major

37:53

Opinions. Be sure to follow Minor Issues Major

37:55

Opinions on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

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or wherever you listen.

37:59

If you enjoyed the show. Please leave us a rating

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38:07

if you haven't already, make sure to check out our 11

38:10

other episodes and we will see you soon.